A new world

I’ve had a long hiatus from blogging on “A World With No Boundaries”. The past few months have seen some major changes, including my departure from life as a NASA contractor, and there are many more to come. I now work for the non-profit organization chartered to bring new research and technology development onto the International Space Station, CASIS, applied to join the Astronaut Corps, and have spent much of my time outside of work volunteering with space education foundations. My energies have mostly been focused on getting through and absorbing those experiences.

The biggest change of all is coming in October, though. My wife and I are expecting our first child. I’m excited beyond words to become a father. I’m doing my best to support my wife by not having too many expectations and just rolling with the changes. When people asked “what I wanted,” my answer was “10 fingers, 10 toes, and a functioning brain”. The natural process is in the driver’s seat here, so I’ve kept my focus simple: healthy mommy, healthy baby, and healthy daddy (so that I can be as engaged as they need me to be!). =)

In the past, I’ve written about what principles and ideals I wanted to keep in mind when raising my children. Such a discussion was always an abstract notion, though, until now. This is the greatest and most important responsibility I will ever have – the care and nurturing of my daughter so that she will one day be an independent, self-supporting human being in her own right.

Over the next several weeks, I will be adding a new series of entries to the blog that I’m calling “Letters to Ellie”. In these posts, I will write to my growing daughter, Eleanor, on what beliefs and ideas I hold and why. I think that last part – the rationale of why I think what I do – is key. I want Ellie to understand how important that question is and that you can get a strong sense of who a person really is by how he or she responds to it. I also want to set an example for her by openly and freely discussing those issues. Introspection is a quality that I think is too lacking in politics today.

I certainly welcome your comments and constructive criticism. Just keep in mind that I will share these exchanges with Ellie when she’s old enough. I know that our country is as polarized as ever in this election season, but I ask that you give yourself a moment of pause before you post. Don’t write anything you wouldn’t want your own kids to read.